Safer in Your Arms
by Psychic Prince
Summary: Marth has always been terrified of Halloween and haunted houses due to a bad experience from his past. When Ike invites him to go through a haunted house with him, Marth is horrified. Despite his fear, however, Marth gives in, knowing he would only be traumatized. Can Ike somehow help diminish Marth's fears? For Halloween! Implied IkexMarth


__**Hiya! This fanfic is completely for Halloween! Of course, I don't own anything. Enjoy! **

_The dead leaves made a satisfying, newspaper-like crunch under his small, tentative feet. It was an owl. Or rather a boy dressed as an owl. His blue hair barely poked out from underneath a puffy white hood, the rest of his body covered in snowy down. Covering his nose was a pointed black cone, supposedly a beak. He was indeed a pure white, fluffy, and altogether adorable owl._

_However, the fluffy down of the boy's costume seemed completely out of place in his surrounding areas. Withered trees slumped, their leaves long gone and littering the scruffy dirt path. The wind howled ominously, and the boy could swear that he saw at least three different pairs of glowing, crimson eyes watching his every move. If he looked up, there would only be stormy gray clouds obscuring the stars. Those stars that would usually glitter like sequins on the ebony stretch of fabric called the sky._

_He jumped, startled, when a twig snapped behind him. Turning around slowly, he found himself face-to-face with a tall, grotesque man with... a real chainsaw!_

_The little owl-boy screamed, a high, girly scream that was smothered in pure terror. He started to run, tripping over his own two feet, his heart pounding in his throat. The strange man didn't follow, but suddenly, hands smeared in dirt reached out to grab his ankles from inside piles of leaves and bushes. He shrieked again, making wild leaps over those hands, those hands covered in dirt and... a strange red substance._

_It would only take a few more feet, a few more steps to get to the exit!_

Almost there...!

_He was so close to getting out, and as he reached for the dark iron gate, he tripped over a tree root, letting out a hair-raising scream as a cloaked figure swooped over him, himself loosing all senses to terror as he blacked out..._

Marth nearly flew out of bed, the pale blue covers crumpling to the floor as he jumped into his roommate's bed, startling him awake, and he started to sob into the other man's warm shoulder.

"Marth?" He looked up into Ike's slightly panicked expression. "W-What are you doing?!"

He just shook his head and buried his face in Ike's navy blue shirt.

Ike seemed to understand. "Another bad dream?"

"H-Horrible..."

The mercenary gently pulled Marth into his arms and rested his chin on his disheveled head of blue hair. "You know, it's always better to tell people about your bad dreams. It helps a lot."

Marth didn't want to tell Ike about his dream. It just wasn't rational to tell his roommate (and crush) about one of his many weaknesses. "N-No thanks... I'm feeling better already..."

Ike simply sighed and closed his eyes in obvious exasperation. The prince would never open up to him, it seemed.

* * *

Marth certainly looked miserable at lunch, and Ike wanted to cheer him up a bit.

"Marth?"

The prince looked up, his eyes clouded.

"I... uh... I'm going to visit a haunted house tomorrow night with Link and Pit... You know, to celebrate Halloween. I thought it would be fun,"Ike haltingly suggested. Marth gazed up at him, his blue eyes wide, and he visibly gulped.

"H-Haunted... house?"

"Uh, yeah. You go through this house with fake monsters chasing after you, that sort of thing. It's a little childish, I know, but Pit really wanted to get away from all that Brawling and such. We kind of agreed that we should just relax for at least one night." Ike really felt foolish now, staring at Marth's incredulous face. "You don't have to come, it was just a suggestion,"he huffed defensively.

Marth seemed to snap out of his trance. "Wha-?! Ah! N-No, it's not foolish at all!"he stammered, "I was just uh... zoning... off?"

This time it was Ike with the blank look on his face.

"A-Anyways,"Marth said hesitantly, "I-I'll go with you guys."

Pit passed by, carrying his lunch in his hands. "That's great! The more people, the better!" The angel shivered in anticipation, a few white feathers scattering from his wings. "I've never been to a haunted house before!"

Marth somewhat crossly waved a few white feathers away in attempts to keep his food feather-free. "It's not as fun as it may seem, Pit."

Ike nudged the prince gently. "Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine! Maybe 'not fun' in a sense that it won't be scary enough, but it's worth a shot."

Marth only shuddered in response.

* * *

_Am I a _baka* _or what?!_

Marth could not believe that he was actually doing this. Going into haunted houses was like reliving his past, living his nightmares. He bit his lip nervously, almost drawing blood as he stepped up to the haunted house with Ike, Link, and Pit by his side.

_My friends are here. Everything will be okay._

Marth was dressed as an owl. He was adorned in white down once again, his robes dragging on the street. Just like that night. Although his costume was truly captivating, Marth's expression was grim and, if one looked close enough, fear flitted in his wide blue eyes.

Ike's expression underneath his wizard's hat was nearly unreadable, but he appeared to be enjoying himself. His midnight-blue wizard robes were long and fluttered mysteriously in the breeze, tiny silver stars dotting the cloth.

Link was as calm and collected as usual, his blond hair poking out of a jaunty, pointed green cap with a read feather sticking out of it. His clothes were similar to what he usually wore, in fact, and Marth had questioned before what he was dressed as. As if he'd already been asked, Link had only sighed and told Marth that he was Robin Hood. Now, Link sighed and raised his eyebrows. "This is kind of childish, dressing up like this."

A flurry of dark feathers appeared in front of them, and Pit's voice argued, "For the last time, Link! Stop being such a spoilsport! Trust me, this will be fun!" Strangely, Pit was dressed exactly the same, the only difference being that instead of white, his clothes were a pitch black, and his wings were the same color. A green wreath replaced the usual golden one in his curly brown hair, and he smiled.

Marth grit his teeth as they approached the entrance of the haunted house.

"Two at a time is preferable,"the manager outside informed them politely.

"No problem,"Ike said nonchalantly, waving his hands and thanking the manager. He motioned to Marth. "Are you going to come with me?"

Marth swallowed despite the fact that he was slightly relieved that at least he could be with Ike. "Y-Yeah." He stepped forward, entering his worst nightmare.

* * *

Ike, simply put, was bored. Any obstacle that they came across, Ike wasn't the least bit afraid. He'd seen too many horrid battles to be affected by fear any longer.

However, that didn't seem to be the case with Marth. Although the prince had obviously been in battles, he seemed terrified.

The little owl clung to Ike's arm as monsters threatened them, snarling, as Ike plowed through the haunted house. A man in all black, his face veiled by a hood, rushed to them, howling unspeakable curses and preparing to leap at Ike.

_How dandy. I hate actors._

The mercenary didn't flinch, feeling Marth's grip on his arm tighten, and the actor, slightly put out, retreated, waiting for an unsuspecting victim to finally appear. Shadows stretched across the hall, and Ike resisted the urge to yawn.

_If I show boredom, Marth will feel weak, which he is not._

Marth was traumatized, silent tears brimming at his eyes as Ike dragged him forward. The end of the haunted house was nearing, and the end seemed to be like a sort of greenhouse, the pollen of some flowers itching at Ike's nose.

_These cursed allergies..._

Hands suddenly reached out, one dirtied hand grabbing at Marth's slender ankle. He let out a cry of horror, and something inside of Ike snapped.

Maybe it was just his dislike of seeing Marth terrified, he didn't know. Nonetheless, Ike promptly crouched down and swept the prince up as if he weighed no more than a feather. Holding the (shocked) swordsman bridal-style, Ike simply jogged to the exit of the haunted house, looking only straight ahead and holding Marth's head to his chest.

* * *

Marth was finally able to breathe and thank the heavens for letting him out safely.

_Ike... He... helped me..._

The mercenary looked into Marth's eyes questioningly. He knew what Ike was going to ask, so he took a deep breath and spilled everything that had been weighing down his heart.

"I've been terrified of haunted houses ever since a bad experience during my childhood. Every Halloween, I have nightmares of that same haunted house. That's why... I get edgy during Halloween,"Marth confessed, staring at the ground.

"Marth... Why didn't you tell me? You didn't have to come with us,"Ike asked in a soft voice.

Marth shook his head. "I _wanted _to come with you. Elise has always been there for me when I was young and comforted me when I had nightmares, but... she's gone now, and I have to learn to fend for myself and get over this silly fear. I thought that I could overcome this fear more easily if you were by my side. _You _comfort me when I have nightmares, without prying or complaining. You make me feel secure, Ike, nearly more than Elise did,"he murmured quietly.

Ike blinked, and let a slight smile flit across his face. "So, are you over your fear, then?"

"No."

The mercenary tilted his head, confused.

Marth smiled and said, "I just feel safer in your arms."

Ike gazed at Marth for a moment before stepping forward and wrapping his arms around the prince. Marth didn't complain; he simply returned the heartfelt hug, both of them not caring a single bit that Link and Pit were now standing behind them, staring at them incredulously.

*** _Baka _means "fool" in Japanese**

**Meh, it's short, but I hope you all enjoyed nonetheless!  
**

**Please review!  
**

**- Psychic  
**


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